AT&T gets to buy Time Warner in legal win over Justice Department

AT&T won the right to complete its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner, which includes various media properties such as DC Entertainment and HBO, after US District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday declined the Justice Department's request to block the deal. Leon also didn't impose any conditions on the deal, giving AT&T and Time Warner what amounts to a total victory in the case.

The merger, which combines one of the largest communications network providers with a major player in the entertainment market, is poised to shake up the media world. It may immediately trigger another deal between Comcast and Fox, which already has an agreement to sell its entertainment assets to Walt Disney. The deals come at a time when traditional media and internet service providers see online giants like Google and Facebook as the key competitive threat.

For AT&T, the ruling marks a huge win in its bid to transform itself into a media powerhouse. It's already purchased satellite TV provider DirecTV for nearly $49 billion.

AT&T applauded the court's decision. And the company said it plans to close the merger, which was announced a year and a half ago, on or before June 20.

"We are pleased that, after conducting a full and fair trial on the merits, the Court has categorically rejected the government's lawsuit to block our merger with Time Warner," David McAtee, AT&T's general counsel, said in a statement.

The ruling is also a major blow to Donald Trump's Justice Department. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, who heads up the antitrust division, said in a statement that he was disappointed in the court's decision, and he reiterated the government's belief that the merger will harm consumers.

"We continue to believe that the pay-TV market will be less competitive and less innovative as a result of the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner," he said in the statement. "We will closely review the court's opinion and consider next steps in light of our commitment to preserving competition for the benefit of American consumers."

Ripple effects
The trial was closely watched, as the fate of the deal could've had ripple effects on future deals and on everyone from media giants to streaming-service providers. A loss for AT&T and Time Warner could've signaled a new era of government scrutiny over so-called "vertical mergers" and could've halted attempts by companies like Disney, Fox and Comcast to announce their own megadeals. This decision could put more pressure on companies like Amazon, Netflix and Google's YouTube, which have been competing with traditional media companies for eyeballs.

AT&T, which has invested heavily in a streaming-video service called DirecTV Now, is free to bulk up its original programming with Time Warner content.

One of the biggest surprises in the judge's decision is the lack of conditions put on the deal. There was no divestiture of assets from AT&T or Time Warner. And there were no so-called behavioral conditions, like the ones Comcast agreed to in order to get the NBC Universal deal approved. Instead, Judge Leon rejected each of the DOJ's arguments against the deal, concluding that "the Government has failed to meet its burden to establish that the proposed, 'transaction is likely to lessen competition substantially.'"

"I'm surprised that AT&T won this without any conditions," said Ketan Jhaveri, former antitrust attorney for U.S. DOJ Telecommunications Task Force and co-CEO of legal tech platform Bodhala. "I would have thought the judge would have ordered a targeted divestiture."

More at link.

Donald Trump: 'What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening'

"Truth isn't truth"- Rudy Giuliani

"China has total respect for Donald Trump and for Donald Trump's very, very large brain," - Donald Trump.

"I'm surprised that AT&T won this without any conditions," said Ketan Jhaveri, former antitrust attorney for U.S. DOJ Telecommunications Task Force and co-CEO of legal tech platform Bodhala. "I would have thought the judge would have ordered a targeted divestiture."

Surprised? Really? Media has been whittling down to only a few mega-corps for years without a hiccup.

"Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Ron Paul

The entire internet is the domain of paid shills and bots. If you don't know this by now....

Israel, under control of the Crown and, ultimately, the Vatican, own the USA. If you don't know this by now....

Talk to people about liberty. You won't find it on websites, you won't find it in politicians.

As it turns out, The DOJ isn't ready to let a federal judge's decision to kill its challenge to the AT&T-Time Warner merger go unchallenged.As a reminder, Judge Leon advised the government not to seek a stay of the ruling to prevent the DOJ from pushing the deal past its deadline, which was at that time only days away. Furthermore, Leon declared that seeking a stay would be a "manifest injustice."
A month after the judge's ruling was handed down - and after the judge effectively warned the federal government not to appeal - the DOJ has done just that, reviving the federal government's fight to block the $85 billion 'vertical integration' deal, the Wall Street Journal reported.